Sunday, 17 June 2012

Game of Prometheus

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE PROMETHEUS

Sharp-eyed viewers will have spotted a few familiar faces shared by Ridley Scott's movie Prometheus and the HBO series Game of Thrones. This should not be a surprise as both projects shared a casting director, Nina Gold.

Present and correct in both projects is actor Emun Elliott, who played the role of troubadour Marillion in Season 1 of Thrones. He was last seen in the Season 1 finale being punished by Joffrey for singing a rude song about his parents. In Prometheus he plays the role of Chance, the starship's pilot.

More immediately recognisable (Chance only having a major appearance very close to the end of the movie) should be Scottish actress Kate Dickie. Dickie appeared as Lady Lysa Arryn in the first season of Thrones, where for her first scene she memorably needed to sport a prosthetic breast for breast-feeding purposes. In Prometheus she plays the role of the ship's medic, Ford, whose medical decisions are frankly a bit head-scratching. Or indeed, head-exploding.

Both actors had the honour of being killed (indirectly and directly, respectively) by Ian Whyte, who in Prometheus plays the Last Engineer (aka that big white guy they really shouldn't have woken up). In Thrones Whyte has two different roles. In the pilot and one episode of Season 2 he played a White Walker but, presumably after complaining of being typecast as really tall, pale dudes who kill humans for no discernible reason, he then pulled double duty as Gregor Clegane Mk. II, replacing Conan Stevens.

As well as actors, both projects filmed in Iceland. Prometheus filmed in the area around the Hekla volcano for the 'birth of life' prologue sequence, whilst exterior plates for LV-233 were also filmed in the area. The Dettifoss waterfell in the north-east of Iceland was also used as a filming location. All-told, Prometheus filmed in Iceland for two weeks in July 2011. Thrones filmed on the huge Vatnajökull glacier for the sequences set beyond the Wall, most notably at the Fist of the First Men and for Jon Snow's meeting with Ygritte. HBO filmed there for four weeks in October-November 2011.